One year ago, at 7:27 pm you sprang forth (<-- ew) earth side and our lives have been forever changed. This has been a year of new adventures and growth of love and gray hairs.

You are such a special little boy -- full of life and energy and sass and laughs and screams and smiles.

He's walking, he's talking (mama, dada, and screaming a lot), and getting into everything. He's already a climber and brings more chaos than I thought was possible for someone so small. But he's the sweetest snuggler.

What a blessing this boy has been in our lives. I cannot always believe we have these two beautiful children, but there you have it.

I am a wife, a mom to two, a Catholic, and a public health dentist living in our new home on a little island by the San Francisco Bay. I collect sparkling earrings, enjoy drinking tea and red wine, hoard stationery, and take too many iPhone photos.

Here are my stories of the things that matter.And the things that don't too.